Interim Scotland boss Scott Johnson has declared he is "happy" with the direction his team are heading.

Clermont boss Vern Cotter will arrive at the end of the season to take charge of Scotland with Johnson moving into a director of rugby role. Johnson oversaw their 2014 Six Nations campaign, a championship which saw them lose four from five and ship 138 points, but he insists Scotland are heading in the right direction.

"In the last year we've capped about a full contingent of Scotland internationalists," Johnson told the Scotsman. "We're trying to broaden this base over an arduous 24 months [to the World Cup] and I'm pretty happy with where they are going. They are getting runs on the board. You won't see it just yet but some of these players are going to be stand-out players.

"They can compete athletically and that's what I like. I've been involved with the Welsh team and you look at the athletes they have out there. The rugby skills are important and if they have the rugby skills and the athleticism you can do pretty good damage. We've got some really good athletes coming through, and they can play rugby. Are they at the height of their game? No, they're not. Will they be? Yes they will."

And Johnson sounded a note of optimism concerning the potential ability of Scotland. He added: "I'm starting to feel more confident about Scotland now. You look at the lock situation and we have some really good young players coming through. We've got two good centres, Hoggy [Stuart Hogg] at the back. Throw in Sean Maitland and Tim Visser and we are starting to get good athletic rugby players."